'The Four: Battle for Stardom' - Who Is Ash Minor? | EXCLUSIVE

posted by Nicole Mastrogiannis -

The Four: Battle For Stardom is finally here. The new singing competition show is unlike anything music fans have seen, because it all begins where most other shows end: with the four FINALISTS.

Four very talented singers will defend their spots on stage as they are challenged individually by new singers determined to replace them. If the existing four outperform their challengers, they survive to sing another week, until the end of the season, when the final four face off against each other. But, only one will claim the ultimate prize for an aspiring artist: a team of elite star-makers – the series’ panel of judges (DJ Khaled,Puff Daddy, Meghan Trainor, andCharlie Walk) – all committed to launching and guiding the winner’s music career.

Not only will the winner's career launch with the help of the judges, they will also become iHeartRadio's "On the Verge" artist; an artist development program supporting the winner with airplay across iHeartMedia radio stations nationwide. This program has helped launched the careers of artists like Sam Smith,Fifth Harmony andNick Jonas, among others.

So, who are The Four contestants kicking off The Four: Battle for Stardom? Say hello to Blair Perkins, Ash Minor, Lex Lu, and Elanese Lansen. iHeartRadio recently got to know more about each budding artist during an exclusive interview. So ... Meet Ash Minor.

Originally from Brisbane, Australia, Ash recently moved to Los Angeles only a few months ago to pursue a career in music. Ash describes the big move as a "whirlwind," and tells iHeartRadio, "I think when you live in a place like Australia, America seems so far away, but it seems like the place to make it. I visited LA and I instantly fell in love with the place. I felt like it was responding to my music. They responded to me as a person. I feel like I could connect with people here."

Read on to learn more about Ash Minor below.

MUSICAL INFLUENCES:

"My music is a hybrid between acoustic, soul funk blues punk. It's really a massive fusion. I've got a lot of musical influences ranging a lot of different genres and styles. I love rock music, but I very very much connect with soul music and R&B. So it forges somewhere in between the two."

MOST NERVOUS ABOUT:

"I suppose I'm most nervous about if I get a song to sing, or I choose a song to sing and the original artist of that song hears it. I guess I want that artist to see it and then be like, 'wow that person killed the song.' The worst thing would be is if I took someone's song and they saw it, and were like 'nah.' So that's my biggest nerve. I'm not really so nervous about the performance aspect, I just want to make sure every song that I do does justice to the song and pays respect to the artist too."

STRATEGY TO WIN:

"My strategy coming into this show is always just been to not look right or left. Just keep looking straight and do my own thing, win my own race. And every single week just try and up my game and give another element of my performance that people haven't seen before."

WHAT MAKES HIM STAND OUT:

"I think what makes me stand out is the fact that I'm a writer musician. I'm a singer. And I try and excel in all those fields. So I've got lots of give as a player or as a singer. I'm not worried about what everyone else is doing. I just want to do my thing and show what I've got."

WHAT IT WOULD MEAN TO WIN THE FOUR:

"That would be a dream come true, and get to work with iHeart, and be one of the On The Verge artists. Especially being here today and seeing the platform that all these artists have had and how elevated their careers have gotten from partnering with iHeartRadio, that's pretty amazing. It puts it all in perspective, really, and makes you realize the magnitude of this opportunity. So, I'm just going to go in there, go 100, do everything I can and, and hope for the best."